4 month old Won't Nap....

[knoxmomof2]

Hey all! I have a new infant (4 months old) from a previous daycare family. DCM says baby goes down on her back, drowsy or asleep, no swaddle, etc but I can't get her to nap here! She'll fall sleep in my arms after her bottle, but the minute I lay her down, she's awake and freaking out. I've had 3 infants of my own and this is my second infant in care in 6.5 years. My 1st DC infant just went to sleep after their bottle. No problem.

I've been letting her cry for 15 minutes and then getting her up. She does not fall asleep. Just cries. Today, her first full day, I had my teen daughter sit with the 2 yo DCG and my own 18 month old and tried EVERYTHING.... Pats, rubs, shushes, etc. Nothing worked. I was in the nap room with her for 30 minutes working with her. If I picked her up and rocked her, she'd fall asleep. Lay her down... Nope!

For those of you who do infants, what do you do in these situations? Do you just let them cry? How long? The crying doesn't bother me, I'm there with her and she's safe, but I'm curious how you all handle this. I'm willing to put in the time figuring it out.

Thanks in advance!

[hwichlaz]

I do the bedtime routine, lay them down, and walk away. I learned, from my own son, that trying to "parent him to sleep" just made things worse for him, got him more worked up. It's possible that this baby just needs to fuss a bit. Choose an amount of time that you are comfortable with...for a 4 month old I wouldn't do more than 10-15 min at a time.

[Gemma]

Maybe she just needs some time to warm up to you and feel safe in the new surroundings

[rosieteddy]

I am not proud of it but I would just rock her.It was a pain but I needed the down time .I would wrap them in a blanket then settle the older kids ,put music on sit in my comfortable rocker and rock them.I was in the nap room and most times the older kids slept longer knowing I was there.It wasn't forever but sometimes until 6 months old.

[Ariana]

Continue to rock to sleep and transfer. When she cries, let her cry a bit longer each time, then pick her up and rock to sleep. Repeat. Its a long process but she will eventually stay asleep.

[Cat Herder]

Originally Posted by Ariana

When she cries, let her cry a bit longer each time, then pick her up. Repeat. Its a long process but she will eventually stay asleep.

I'd do everything she said, except for the rocking. Graduated extinction. Go now as you intend to go forward.

Lay her in her crib, awake. Comfort her verbally first, pat then hold for a minute while standing. Lay her back down, walk away. Wait longer and longer to comfort. If she is still awake after 20 minutes, let her go back to the floor with toys. Repeat.

[flying_babyb]

I had this child. Drove me nuts, cause he was tired, the kids were tired and so was I. I got a tiny sleep sack. I tucked him in with his arms on his chest (we cant use swaddlers in daycare in our state). I would snuggle him and go "SHHHHHHHHHHH" over and over. It took a bit but it worked. Eventually he managed to sleep without the sack

[mommyneedsadayoff]

I wouldn't rock to sleep. I would feed, play, change diaper, lay down for nap. It would be consistently the same routine every single day, and every single nap. I would let her cry and work it out. I would check every 15-20 min, but just pop a paci in and quietly leave, not picking her up. White noise or a fan, nice cool, dark room...let her figure out how to put herself to sleep. Consistency and time will do the trick.

[Mom2Two]

Does baby take a paci? Anymore, I don't want infants in care who don't take pacifiers.